Monthly Archives: October 2010

On Thursday, when they spoke, the bank executive was sweetness and light—she told them that Ilsa and Brian qualified for HAMP, that they would get refinanced, that they would not have to pay the difference in mortgage of the last three months—“Your lower mortgage rate is locked in!”

And as to the $84 penalty fee, which had driven Brian in particular up the wall: It was waived.

Ilsa told me, “It was the nicest conversation we’ve ever had with a bank executive.”

The executive promised to have the papers drawn up, ready to be signed before November 1.

That’s right: November first. After dicking them around for months on end, Wells Fargo all of a sudden went from turtle-speed to light-speed—to warp-speed—boom!—just like that. They didn’t even engage thrusters, Captain—it was warp drive the instant Brian e-mailed that threat.

The Mikkelsen brothers founded Refugees United after helping a close friend—a refugee from Afghanistan—track down his brother following years of separation. The brothers recognized the web’s stunning potential to empower refugees to find loved ones and form a communication network. Bringing their passion and energy to bear, the brothers reached out to form partnerships to bring their idea to life in the form of a low cost, high impact system.

Kapur told clients in 2005 that the United States and a handful of other economies were developing into “plutonomies” where the wealthy few powered economic growth and consumed much of its bounty, while the “multitudinous many” shared the leftovers.

Plutonomies come around only once or twice a century, he argued — 16th century Spain, 17th century Holland, the Gilded Age. The last time it happened in the United States was during the “Roaring 1920s”.

There was money to be made by buying shares of luxury companies that made toys for the rich, he told clients, suggesting a basket of stocks that included upscale retailer Burberry and luxury home builder Toll Brothers.

“When I presented this to clients, they said, ‘Okay, this is interesting because you’re telling me what happened in the 1920s is happening right now, and you obviously know what happened after 1929, right?’,” Kapur said in an interview.

His response? That can’t happen again because we know better now.

“To be perfectly honest…. I certainly didn’t think it would all melt down in 2007. I’d be lying if I said that.”

The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a history of detainment and harassment of politics-obsessed bloggers. This includes a variety of secularists, leftists, and Islamists whose views often fall under official disfavor for a variety of reasons. Fifty-seven-year-old human rights activist and blogger Sheikh Mekhlef bin Dahham al-Shammari has been in prison since June on charges of “annoying others.” Munir al-Jassas, who frequently blogged on pro-Shiite topics, has been in prison since November of 2009.

Thoughts are things. Words have meaning. Hyperbole is only speech when directed at clear thinking people. Right wing rhetoric is the equivalent of yelling ‘fire’ in a crowded theater:

And it was the things that he did, it was the things he exposed that blew my mind. Beck would never say anything about a conspiracy, would never advocate violence, he’ll never do anything like, of this nature, but he’ll give you every ounce of evidence that you could possibly need.

Vermont has issued plates such as CARP DM, PEACE2U, LIVFREE, and BPOSTIV, among others – provided the philosophies, beliefs, and values express a secular perspective. Those who wish to express a personal philosophy, belief, or value that reflects, even only subjectively, a religious view – e.g., PRAY, ONEGOD, SEEKGOD – have been prohibited from doing so.

HR 5297 passed the Senate last week. It will rush through the house and likely be signed into law by President Obama as early as Friday of this week. This bill will have a huge impact on business. Here, courtesy of Jack Kykendahl and Tom Yuhas is a quick run down of the bill:Continue reading →

Jim Heitman, an independent, fee-only financial adviser in Alta Loma, Calif., has seen a big jump in client interest in reverse mortgages in recent years. “When I introduce the topic, I need to do a lot less educating as to what that is than I used to,” he says.